It would be wrong to believe that Spanos hasn’t quietly been doing research on the available coaches. If Raye is named, the interview process will proceed immediately, although under NFL rules, assistant coaches for playoff teams can’t interview for jobs right away.

Continuity in football ops will not be a bad thing because Smith’s people were out all fall scouting both college football talent and potential veteran free agents. The Chargers themselves have 25 free agents _ 19 unrestricted _ on their roster. They will want some back, not all.

This team will not have the same look and feel it has had under Turner. For one thing, he called his own offensive plays. And how many of his assistant coaches remain employed here will depend on the new coach. The coaching hire is not expected to come from within.

A big question is whether the vocal section of the fan base will be pleased with any hire. As Turner noted, he was instantly rejected, for whatever reason, when he took over for Marty Schottenheimer, who was rum to Smith’s Castor oil. But Turner never was an embarrassment and had some superior moments here, as did Smith, who at one time had built what widely was regarded as the most talented team in football.

It’s up to the new guys now. The key to the whole matter is that few teams with losing records have a quarterback as talented as Philip Rivers, who this year was plagued by awful offensive line play brought about by an inordinate amount of injuries. Strides have been made on defense, but the offense needs a makeover.

Rivers, who did his part to save Turner’s job last year, didn’t really have much of a say this time around. He, like everyone else, knew it was coming.

“”When you play quarterback for a guy for 102 games, that’s a lot of time spent,” Rivers said. “A lot of fun, a lot of hard work, plenty of disagreements and aggravations, and all those things that you love about this game and you love about a coach/player relationship.

“It’s hard. Other than my dad, I don’t know that there’s ever been a coach you’ve ever had so much respect and trust for.

“It’s been a heckuva run.”

The Norv and A.J. roller coaster run ends today, the two of them getting off with no tickets left.